If your business is connected, you probably need a virtual private network, or VPN. A VPN extends a private network across the Internet, enabling a computer or network-enabled device to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if it were directly connected to your private network.
Any business’s data is a gold mine to potential hackers. If there’s any sensitive information being passed from one machine to another, you probably need a VPN.
VPNs are particularly crucial when you have off-site employees, because of the increased points of connection. Since your data is only as safe as its weakest link, it only takes one stop on the chain to compromise your entire organization’s security. So the question isn’t “does your business need VPN coverage?” it’s “why are you letting your off-site employees get connected without one?”
VPNs are useful for a few reasons. First, you can access remote data centers, important if you’re keeping a lot of your company’s information on a cloud-based data plan. Second, they allow off-site employees to stay connected to the same assets and resources as your on-site employees. Finally, and perhaps most importantly from a security point of view, a VPN secures and encrypts all data once it leaves your computer until it arrives at its destination. In the near future it’s likely that fewer and fewer people will access the Internet without a VPN.
Not only is a connection without a VPN not terribly secure, but there are few apps used regularly by businesses less secure than VOIP applications such as Skype. In fact, a VOIP app is often less secure than your landline. A VPN allows you to secure your VOIP app. Best of all, you don’t need to do anything special to secure your VOIP app; just set up your VPN and it takes care of all your Web traffic.
Speaking of phone security, a good VPN provider also allows you to secure your business’s mobile devices. This is important if you provide phones or other mobile devices for your employees. Remember that even if you have a highly secure connection at your place of business, it’s not going to protect your employees when they get connected somewhere public. But a VPN for your mobile devices will help secure your data when they’re out at a coffee shop or checking their email at home.
When looking for a VPN, all services are not created equally. You want a company who can’t even access your useful information, should it be hacked. The best VPNs offer this kind of anonymous connection to the Internet. For businesses dealing in sensitive information, this kind of anonymity is particularly important. But maybe you just think your Web traffic is your business—not someone else’s.
Best of all, VPNs are inexpensive, even on a per-machine basis. And just think of the potential cost in lost data, downtime and diminished trust if you don’t use one.